The idea of putting up a hospice came to Fermin and Dada Adriano after the death of their only daughter Sarah Katrina from nasopharyngeal cancer at a tender age of 14. It had been a tumultuous time for their family and in their quest for answers, they came across the concept of hospice. Unfortunately, they could not find one. Like the true UPLB scientists that they were, Fermin and Dada read about it and found that there was a Filipina hospice pioneer in the United States. She was  Dra. Josefina Magno who at that time was about to retire and was  ready to go home and help put up hospices in our country.

Unbeknownst to them, there was also another group of lifelong friends namely Carol Guerrero, Ning Basa, Marcia Sandoval and Merci Melchor  who also wanted to do something good while they were still strong. It was providential that Fermin and Dada met them and convinced them that putting up a hospice was indeed a worthy project.

The two groups met at a talk given by Dra. Magno and thus the Madre de Amor Hospice Foundation was born.

The Foundation was launched on August 19, 1994, one year after the death of Sarah.

In Fermin’s words in his book entitled “ O God Why Sara?”, “ the establishment of the hospice presented a great relief for us. In it, we discovered the reason for Sarah’s suffering. No longer will the hospice patients and their relatives suffer the same that our daughter underwent, they would be given proper attention and care by their loved ones in collaboration with our volunteers. The sense of fulfillment we experience whenever a relative of a patient testifies in our group sharing, that their loved one did not experience any pain and passed away peacefully and lovingly like the feeling of having one’s prayer answered by the Lord. Sarah had to suffer so that others will no longer suffer.”